Humidor



Nov, 1, 1960 M. l. SHUSTER 2,958,469

HUMIDOR Filed April 17, 1958 MORR|S L SHUSTER INVENTOR BY W ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice 2,958,469 Patented Nov. 1, 1960 HUMIDOR Morris I. Shuster, 246 Churchill Road, West Englewood, NJ.

Filed Apr. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 729,181

1 Claim. (Cl. 239-56) This invention relates to a humidor which can be used in any confined space for controlling the moisture content of the air. It has particular reference to a humidor in combination with an indicating means which shows by means of color comparisons the approximate degree of moisture remaining in the humidor absorbent material.

The humidor herein described may be used for any purpose for delivering moist air to a small container but it is especially designed for use with cigar boxes containing fifty or a hundred cigars. It is a well-known fact that cigars must be kept moist in order to retain the best smoking qualities and many humidors have been designed and used for the purpose of keeping cigars moist. Some of the prior art humidors have been designed with the absorbent material adjoining the cigars and therefore suffered the disadvantage of sometimes dripping water on the cigars and destroying the wrapper. All prior known cigar humidors have no positive indication to show when the moisture has left the absorbent material and therefore it often occurs that both the humidor and the cigars are dried out.

The present invention solves all these difliculties by first securing the absorbent material within a humidor container with considerable air storage space surrounding the material so that the absorbent material does not come in direct contact with the cigars. The humidor also includes a novel means for determining when the absorbent material has lost its moisture and should be renewed.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an improved humidor which avoids one or more of the disadvantages and limitations of prior humidors.

Another object of the invention is to provide a humidor which may be made in a convenient shape so that it may be packed within a small box along with other commodities having a similar shape.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the cost of humidor manufacture by employing moldable plastic cases and synthetic sponge compositions.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate the possibility of wetting the commodity by spilling water thereon.

Another object of the invention is to insure the presence of moisture in the absorbent material by providing a color responsive material and a color matching area.

The invention includes a humidor which provides moisture to a confined space and includes a container having at least one plane surface. A plurality of holes are formed in the container walls and a quantity of absorbent material is secured within the container for holding water. The material used has a distinctive color when dry and a diiferent color when wet, these colors being visible through a transparent window formed in the plane surface. Two colored areas are placed adjacent to the transparent window for visual comparison of the color of the absorbent material, the colored areas are designed to match the color of the absorbent material when it is dry.

For a better understanding of the present invention,

together with other and further objects thereof, reference is made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the humidor.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the humidor taken along line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the humidor.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the humidor taken along line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the humidor showing the transparent area and the two colored areas.

Referring now to the figures, the humidor comprises two separable parts 10 and 11 which fit together when the humidor is in use but which may be separated when it is desired to renew the moisture in the absorbent material. On the top plane surface of the humidor is a transparent area 12 through which the absorbent material may be viewed. Small holes 13 and 14 are formed in the side of the humidor and two larger holes 15 are formed in either end.

On the top of the humidor container adjoining the transparent area 12 are two areas 16 which are colored a distinctive color designed to match the absorbent material when substantially devoid of moisture. If the humidor is used in a box of cigars the user may make a visual comparison of the colored areas and the color of the absorbent material each time the box is opened. In this manner a check can be made on the humidor moisture content without removing the humidor from the box and without the necessity of touching the absorbent material.

The absorbent material may include any one of a number of substances which absorb water and change color when doing so. The preferred substance comprises a synthetic sponge material of light blue color impregnated with a filler of chalk-like material which gives the sponge a light blue color when dry. When this type of sponge is immersed in water the color changes to a much deeper blue thereby providing an indication of its moisture content.

As shown in Fig. 2 the absorbent material comprises a synthetic sponge 17 set in the central portion of the humidor container and secured in this position by two partitions 18 formed integral with the lower portion of the container 11. Since partitions 18 traverse the entire width of the container 11 and since they are formed integral with the side walls as well as the base, the partitions form a small container which will retain any excess moisture which happens to be present when the sponge 17 receives its initial supply of water.

It will be noted that there are two air spaces between the sponge material and the large holes 15. These two spaces act as air reservoirs for humid air and do not permit the sponge material to come in direct contact with the cigars or other objects within the confined space.

When the absorbent material 17 is first wetted it possesses a deep blue color which is in contrast with the much lighter color of areas 16 adjoining the trans parent window 12. As the moisture escapes from sponge 17 by evaporation or by transfer to the objects within the confined space, the color of the sponge becomes a lighter blue and finally when the sponge is almost dry its color matches the color of areas 16 and this serves as an immediate visual warning to replenish the moisture in the sponge.

It will be obvious that the applied color areas need not be in the exact position shown. The entire top half of the humidor may be made of transparent plastic while the bottom half may be made of colored plastic having the contrasting shade necessary for moisture determination. By looking through the top half, the color of the bottom still presents adjoining contrasting color areas.

It will be obvious from the above description that the invention provides a useful and novel humidor means with a visual indicator for supplying moisture to a confined space. It is to be understood that the invention does not depend upon the shape of the container nor upon the color of the absorbent material and the matching areas. The foregoing disclosure and drawings are merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense. The only limitations are to be determined from the appended claim.

I claim:

A humidor comprising, a container including a top portion and a bottom portion, and a quantity of absorbent material secured within the container for holding water, said material having a distinctive color when dry and a difierent color when wet, said top portion made of transparent material for visual observation of said absorbent material, and said bottom portion made of colored material which matches the color of the absorbent material when substantially dry.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

